Customer Reviews

Big Chief Elizabeth: The Adventures and Fate of the First English Colonists in America

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Milton has followed up Nathaniel's Nutmeg with another tale of English exploration with all its hardships and heroics, vanity and violence, successes and stupidity. Big Chief Elizabeth charts England's efforts to plant a colony. It starts with the poorly planned ventures of English gentlemen (who on one voyage waited until they were several days out to sea before deciding that they might want to plan their course), but the bulk of the book is devoted to Sir Walter Ralegh's numerous expeditions. Despite it's title, the book really isn't about Elizabeth, who shows up to graciously lend her name to things or to bestow Ralegh with a new title and money to finance his adventures.

Strange deatails abound, such as the fact that tobacco was recommended as a cure for numerous diseases--especially for pregnant women and children!

Milton describes numerous colorful characters, such as Ralegh, who spent a small fortune on his clothes, James Harriot, who deciphered the Indians' language by creating an entirely new alphabet, and Ralph Lane, a colonial governor who loved nothing more than harsh conditions and privation.

A fine read.

Giles Milton has created a book that is even better than his previous history-as-adventure book, Nathaniel's Nutmeg. Much of his style with his wonderful use of the grand adventure mixed with shocking tidbit remain but Big Chief Elizabeth is a far more focused piece of work. It does not roam the world and the centuries but cleanly focuses on the clash between two worlds: Elizabethan England and the New World. It sets up the mystery of the Roanoke lost colonists and the adventures of John Smith and Pocohontas, to name only two familiar situations within the book, within an historical framework that touches upon all the familiar characters of England and the early American colonization. But best of all, the story is told with great skill, some humour, much derring do, and sympathy for all sides. Milton is able to bring out the human elements of these almost mythical characters. This book is highly recommended for anyone who likes a good, exciting story. A fine achievement from a wonderful weaver of history.

Think of this book as the equivalent of sitting down with a good friend, one who fancies himself an amateur historian, and having him tell you what he knows of the early British attempts at colonization of North America. Your friend is obviously well-read, organizes his thoughts effectively, and most importantly knows how to tell a good story. There is of course no time for footnotes and you're too polite to interrupt with questions like "how do you know that?" Oddly, he's come prepared with more than a few fascinating prints apparently of engravings illustrating various events in his story, but he never finds time to tell you where they're from.

A pleasant evening ensues and you get an entertaining, panoramic view of the progression of English forays across the Atlantic from the years 1536 through Sir Walter Raleigh's death on the chopping-block in 1618. Although he begins with "let me tell you the story of Big Chief Elizabeth", the queen herself gets only passing mentions from your friend, and his story lasts well into the reign of James I. When he finishes, you have many questions, but he quickly packs up his engravings, gives you the names of a few books to check out from the library, and departs. You think, maybe I will get those other books.

British author Giles Milton begins with the rather comical story of Richard Hore, who financed and led a two-ship adventure to the Labrador coast in 1536. Hore and his compatriots gave no thought beforehand to their route or to how much provisioning they might need for their voyage. Of course, the attempt ends badly. In a foretaste of minor frustrations ahead for the reader, author Milton relates the fate of only one of the ships.

A few other faltering attempts to exploit the New World are described, but it's only when Sir Walter Ralegh enters the picture that Milton's story gains its true focus. (Milton chooses the spelling "Ralegh" from among the many alternatives that the courtier himself utilized --- which did not, according to the author, include "Raleigh".) From hereon, the book could be read as a Ralegh biography.

The Ralegh-sponsored Roanoke colony, with its fate still cloaked in mystery, is the most compelling part of this story. Milton's approach is to first recount the known facts in as uncomplicated a way as possible. This proves beneficial, as the many books written specifically to solve the mystery of disappearance have too often made it seem only more impenetrable. (See especially the captivating yet maddening "Roanoke: Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony" by Lee Miller.) Later, in a somewhat dogmatic Epilogue, Milton lays out what he believes happened to those colonists. Although he makes only an abbreviated attempt to cite authorities and to prove his case, I found his explanation consistent with the best-established facts and therefore convincing.

But before that Epilogue, Milton continues the story with his version of the Jamestown saga, with attendant profiles of John Smith, Powhatan, Pocahontas, and others. This section is workmanlike, adding neither new insights nor detail to this oft-recounted part of colonial history.

There are two maps, acceptable in themselves, but leaving unanswered many questions of geographical detail important to the accounts. This shortcoming, the lack of footnotes, and the rudimentary bibliography relegate the book to one of only passing interest. As a readable introduction to and summary of the history of early English colonization - a place where the best stories of the period are gathered together in an entertaining recounting - the book serves its purpose well. But go elsewhere for a more rigorous study.

When you hear the word "Roanoke," you generally think, "Oh, yeah, the lost colony," and don't give it another thought. It was just another of the dozens of colonies which were already in progress in America at the time, and the one which unfortunately didn't work out. This is what I always thought anyway, but no, it turns out to have been quite a bit more than that.

You see, Roanoke was the first English colony in America. The first. After several remarkably incompetent attempts to settle North America in the 16th century, (one of which was notable for the explorer's failure to even agree upon a route to it until they were at sea), a colony was finally established there in the spring of 1587. (Interestingly, this was almost a full 100 years after Colombus' discovery.) The colonists were left to fend for themselves in the summer of 1587, with a promise that a boat would be back within a year. But it wasn't until 1591 that a return ship finally made it, and by then all of the English colonists had vanished. The only trace of themselves left behind was the word "Croatoan," carved into a tree. This mystery endures today, although the author does a pretty good job of clearing it up.

The Roanoke story is the centerpiece of this book, which is a concise and detailed history of the failed attempts and then ultimate success of the English to colonize North America. It is a strange and utterly fascinating story. We learn of Sir Walter Ralegh (author's spelling), who was the dreamer of the project, but who was only able to finance it with the help of his benefactor, Queen Elizabeth. Indeed, his success and the success of his venture depended entirely on her, and when he fell out of favor with her in 1592, he not only lost his backing, he was thrown in jail! (She eventually let him go.)

Her successor, King James, for whom Jamestown was named, initially had no interest in the so-called Virginia project at all, (named for the "Virgin Queen"), and even less in Ralegh, who he imprisoned again, and this time for 16 years. (These actions kind of give you the idea why the concept of a "rule of law" was so important to our forefathers!)

But in fits and starts the expeditions continued until finally the first successful colony was founded in Jamestown. The voyages are covered in great detail: the leaky, waterlogged boats, Atlantic storms, horrible food, etc. And when they ended, the colonists found themselves in a wilderness, populated only by wild animals, and unpredictable, dangerous Indians. The hardships endured by these people--most of whom did not survive--are almost unimaginable, with starvation, disease, and bloodthirsty, savage attacks almost guaranteed. (The English could be very cruel too; the author's account is very balanced.)

We get to know the personalities involved: John Smith, the flamboyant captain; John White, the incompetent painter/governor; Lord De La Warr, the ruthless protector; Manteo, the first Anglicized Indian; Powhatan, lord of the Indian empire; and Pocahontas, saviour of the English. Pocahontas was perhaps the most amazing in this cast of bizarre characters: the survival of the Jamestown colony can be attributed almost single-handedly to her, at the time a twelve-year old girl, but the favorite daughter of the powerful Indian chief, Powhatan. She eventually marries an English planter, John Rolfe, and moves to England, where she spends the rest of her days. You couldn't make this stuff up.

This is just an astonishing story, told with flair, and based almost exclusively on the accounts of those who participated. You'll learn a lot from this history, and enjoy yourself immensely doing so.

This is a book for all of us for whom names like Roanoke, Jamestown, Francis Drake, Sir Walter Ralegh, Powhatan, Pocohontas, and John Smith are merely dim memories from grade school Colonial History studies. Giles Milton has taken a marvelously colorful cast of characters and a set of intrinsically dramatic events and made of them a wonderfully readable, genuinely exciting history of the earliest English efforts to colonize North America.

An accretion of myth has grown up around colonization, which at least implies that Europeans stumbled upon bountiful lands and picked them clean at the expense of helpless native populations. Milton's book masterfully recaptures a sense of how enormous were the risks, human and financial, which accompanied the process. The human risk was taken by the colonists and administrators who set sail for a New World which Milton amply demonstrates they knew practically nothing about. The book charts the stuttering attempts to establish a secure foothold on the Atlantic Coast, through episodes of shipwreck, starvation, murder, and war; ending with the uneasy truce reached between colonists and natives when John Rolfe fell in love with and married Pocohontas, legendary daughter of the warrior chieftain Powhatan. Lest anyone believe that the English had an easy time of all this, consider the moment when just fifteen men were left behind to hold the fort at Roanoke, alone amidst an unexplored and untamed wilderness. These men and a subsequent group of colonists famously disappeared--the lost colony of Roanoke--though Milton offers an intriguing theory of their fate in an Epilogue.

The expense of settling Virginia and the Chesapeake Bay was largely borne by Ralegh, a pampered favorite of Queen Elizabeth. He comes across as the one player who had a vision of what the American colonies might become and a stubborn determination to establish them. In Milton's portrayal, he is the quintessential Renaissance man--courtier, poet, scientist, diplomat, soldier, etc.--and the hero of the tale. Ralegh made every effort in these early years to treat the natives fairly, even making one of them, Manteo, who had been brought back to England and educated, the Lord of Roanoke. Ultimately his peaceful policy was abandoned, but thanks to the rising demand for the tobacco which his minions had brought back with them his vision of a permanent colony became a reality, though he tragically ended up on the chopping block, beheaded by James I on a dubious accusation of treason.

Milton relies heavily on first hand accounts, many presented with their original chaotic spelling, and these take some getting used to, but they do lend the tale a greater immediacy than it might otherwise have had. With stories of piracy, war at sea and on land, cowardice and bravery, blind luck and vicious backstabbing, there's always plenty of action and the whole thing ends with an improbable love story. Never mind what you think you remember from those school days long ago; this is history at its exciting and informative best.

GRADE : A

After reading Samurai William, I wasn't too impressed with Giles Milton but I was totally delighted with this book. Big Chief Elizabeth proves to be very well written and interesting book about the early effort of English coloniziation of the North America and their disappointing fate until Jamestown. There are a lot of histoy here but its all very readable and easy to digest. The author obviously in this case, knows his material and his interesting explanation on the infamous lost colony of Roanke proves to be quite interesting. One of the better books written on this subject, almost anyone would enjoyed this book as entertaining as the characters and stories goes.

'Weroanza' - In a Native American language, a word meaning 'Big Chief'. Perhaps it was, as the author says, the eponymous Queen Elizabeth I of the books title, but it could also have been applied to any of the many Sirs we read about - Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Further, we could certainly use the title for the powerful Powhatan (father of Pocahontas), a Native American who fought to throw English settlers back into the sea. Perhaps, most appropriately, 'Big Chief' applies to Giles Milton himself, for with this fascinating, lively, and colorful book he has surely established himself as Weroanza of the popular history genre. Sobel, Philbrick and Co., now truly have company.

We read about English attempts to settle in North America, from the earliest explorations of the 1530's through the half-baked schemes of Sir Humphrey Gilbert (half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh) to Raleigh sponsored expeditions, especially the fateful John White led Roanoke settlement. 'Trials' is the most appropriate word to use in describing the many attempts that preceeded the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown. Mr Milton interjects qoutes and sentences in the vernacular of old English (veri olde English!) throughout the book. This is seen in the description by a settler of the trials faced from lack of resources. Hunger, surprisingly to me, seems to have been a problem. "If thou wouldest needs know, the broyled meate that I had was a piece of such a man's buttocke". This was not the bucolic life 'down on the farm' that we oftentimes think these settlers enjoyed.

There are many interesting stories here. How did a Native American by the name of Manteo come to be Lord of Roanoke and how did one little known Rebecca Rolfe cease to be the well known Pocahontas. What happened to the Roanoke settlement? Mr Milton posits an interesting theory by way of an answer. He discusses John Smith, Francis Drake, Queen Elizabeth I and King James VI and naturally, if we are talking about the early settlement of Virginia, then we are also talking about Tobacco.

BIG CHIEF ELIZABETH is well researched, so it should get positive reviews from historians, and it's written in an easy style so as to guarantee wide acceptance by general readers. That about covers what good popular history is supposed to be.

"Big Chief Elizabeth" grabbed me from the first page and didn't loosen its grip until the very end. Its detailed accounts of English piracy and maritime voyages were entertaining in themselves, even without the larger, historical story. And as someone who has read a lot about Queen Elizabeth I, it was interesting to see her court from the American Colony point of view.

What I found most interesting, though, was the history itself and how it differed from what many of us were taught in school. For example, many of those noble, long-suffering colonists we learned about were actually lazy, greedy, high-born "gentlemen" who literally starved to death because they had no practical skills. And the heroic Sir Walter Raleigh, while smart and visionary and adventurous, was also a flamboyantly dressed fop who flirted his way to the inner royal circle. And the story of Pocahontas is certainly different from the Disney version!

In the end I was inspired to read more about this period of history, and certainly more by this author. A great read ... highly recommended!

Giles Milton's brash and breezy history of the earliest attempts to create a permanent English settlement in North America is a charming, amusing, all together serious historical romp. He loves the colorful, eccentric Elizabethans from their courage to their little vanities. He delights in offering examples of creative spelling (Mark Twain said never trust a man who can only spell a word one way [sic] -- he would have adored Vater Rales), their gaudy get-ups and get rich quick schemes involving the vast acres of America. But all the while Martin never loses sight of how dangerous it was just to get to the New World, let alone try and live there. Witness the awful fate of the those left on Roanoke Island, ill prepared to fend for themselves. "Big Chief Elizabeth" is also refreshing in that its author gives us Native Americans who are neither Noble Savages nor without full and rich lives -- and schemes -- of their own. Using extant documents his gives us portraits of individuals. Nor does Milton dismiss them as mere victims. He also makes it perfectly clear that European settlers did a very stupid thing in underestimating the Indians while depending on their good will and superior knowledge. Adventureres all, Elizabethans in buckskin and Algonquins in taffeta, "Big Chief Elizabeth" is history as story-telling (as it should be) -- true, crackling good stories, too.

This is an absolute cracker of a read. Milton has the happy of knack
of making his subjects, his story and the time come alive - and this
is a great story. On the cover the blurb reads "The Adventures
and Fate of the First English Colonists in America" - but this is
really a history of all the men and women who made the first colony in
America - so this includes Elizabeth I, and men such as Sir Humfrey
Gilbert and his half-brother (yes half-brother) Sir Walter Ralegh, who
put together these expeditions in the sixteenth century.

Milton has
a lovely way of putting together this story. It is chronological, as
each new attempt or piece of information builds on the last, but he
draws in details to build the picture perfectly. So when we get to
Ralegh (Milton's spelling of the name) there is a welter of detail on
his early life, and Elizabeth the First's court life to show the age
he lived in, what sort of person he was and the privelege he had
experienced. Milton's style is very light and I enjoyed that too. For
Instance, he refers to Elizabeth I's great favourite "the
swaggering Robert Dudley, her 'sweet Robin,' who had come within a
codpiece of depriving the virgin Queen of her much vaunted
epithet." Milton also lets the adventurers tell their own stories
by interspersing the text with their own comments and writings which
is rather fun and occassionally laugh out loud funny.

The life of the settlers in England's first American colony on Roanoke
Island just south of Chesapeake Bay comes alive in all its grim detail,
under Milton's pen. He overlays the sources from England, ship's logs, and
survivors accounts, to show us a picture of poor planning, conflicting
interests, ill-suited personalities and petty politics which effectively
sabotage each attempt to settle in America. And in the end there is an
amazing mystery left. For following the first failed settlement on this
island another group of settlers was sent to establish a new town but this
time in the more salubious area of Chesapeake Bay. Unfortunately, owing to
problems with ambitious ship's captains, they are dumped back on Roanoke
Island. It proves just as unhappy a place for them as for the last settlers,
and after some troubles they decide to send the town's ineffective governor
back to England to beg for more help - and that is the last time the colony
is ever heard of. The years pass and problems in England, and war with
Spain, mean that no one makes any concerted search for them. However, Milton
has been through all the contemporary accounts and thinks the answer is
there. Gradually, layer by layer, he unwraps the mystery of what happened,
leaving clues through the book which he marks for us to take note of. And he
also makes the whole thing very personal, for not only are the settlers
missing, but among them is Virginia Dare, she was first white American child
born to the colony, the grand-daughter of the colony's Governer to boot. It
makes it very compelling, trying to fit the pieces of this puzzle back
together to discover what on earth happened to lost settlement.

This book
reads as easily as a novel, it's a real page turner and an absolute
gem as a follow up for "Nathaniel's Nutmeg"